Simple Miso Soup Recipe

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In America, many people's encounters with miso soup likely happen by way of Japanese restaurants. Maybe you get it as a side with your sushi roll lunch special, or enjoy a steaming bowl of it before feasting on some yakitori. However you've come across it, it's hard to deny that while there are a lot of ways to use miso, one of the most popular ones is to create miso soup. It's easy to see why — miso soup is light yet comforting, simple yet complex. It's customizable, often vegetarian, and it's full of satisfying umami flavor.

Feeling hungry yet? Good news: It's not actually that challenging to put together a big pot of miso soup in your own home kitchen. Recipe developer and wellness coach Miriam Hahn's miso soup recipe only requires one pot and a handful of ingredients. It has that classic miso soup flavor you know and love, and serves as a more substantial meal than your average sushi bar side thanks to the addition of hearty shiitake mushrooms and cubes of extra firm tofu.

Miso soup is a simple dish, but it does require a bit of prep before you turn the stove on. Once you gather your ingredients — white miso, vegetable broth, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, extra firm tofu, soy sauce, and powdered ginger — the first thing to do is press the tofu. A tofu press is convenient for this, but if you don't have one, you can put the tofu in a bowl or plate, cover it in paper towels, and put heavy objects on top.

"Since tofu is packed in water, I like to drain and press it so that it is firmer in the soup. If you don't press it, it will be a little soggy," Hahn explains. She also clarifies that there are "some tofu brands that are not packed in water," such as the kind labeled "super firm" at Trader Joe's, which don't need pressing.

While you wait for the tofu to press, slice up the scallions and prepare the mushrooms by removing their stems (you can use the shiitake stems in other recipes) and giving them a good chop. "I like using shiitake mushrooms for this because they have a more intense flavor than other mushrooms and are very hardy," Hahn says. "But you can definitely use any other type of mushrooms!"

It's time to get out your soup pot. Pour your broth in there, turn on the heat, and let it come to a boil. As that's heating up, remove your pressed and drained tofu from its bowl and cut it into cubes. 

Once the broth reaches a boil, use a ladle or large spoon to transfer about a cup of broth to a small bowl. Put the white miso in that smaller amount of broth and let it dissolve. "In all of my recipes that use miso, I always use white," says Hahn, adding that "the red miso is saltier and a little more pungent and kind of takes over the flavor of the soup." Of course, if you like a stronger flavor, you could give red miso a try.

Adjust the stove's heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms to the pot. About five minutes later, turn the heat to a simmer and put in the soy sauce, ginger, scallions, and cup of miso-filled broth. All that's left is just five more minutes of simmering.

Once your soup is done simmering, it's time to serve it up. "This miso soup is perfect for a light lunch," Hahn says. "If I'm serving it for dinner, I like to add rice and a big green salad. Because it has the tofu, it is a perfect balance of protein, fat, and fiber."

This soup recipe makes six servings, but if you're not going to feed that many people at once, it's easy to store whatever you have left over. Per Hahn, "Leftovers will be great for up to 5 days if you store the leftover soup in a sealed container in the fridge." Now, the next time you have a hankering for Japanese takeout, you'll be able to supply your own miso soup.

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In its simplest form — broth and aromatics — miso is often served as a light breakfast in Japan. However, there are quite a few traditional and not-so-traditional ingredients you can add for extra flavor, texture, and to create a more hearty and satisfying meal. We've added cubed tofu, which is traditional, but if you're not keeping to a vegetarian diet, there are other forms of protein you could explore. You can up the briny sweetness with some cooked shrimp or crab, and if you want to lean into the seafood flavor, you could also add fish paste or fish sauce to the broth. Beans are always an option — black beans would add earthiness to the soup. An egg cracked right into the broth is always a fun addition.

Any number of vegetables would add nutrition, flavor, and color to the broth, including wakame or nori seaweed, daikon radish, carrots, broccoli, or any kind of greens. Garlic is a great addition to most soups, and a dash of tamari would also add a depth of umami flavor. For substance and texture, you could add any kind of noodles or cooked rice into the broth. And if you like your soup spicy, you could add your favorite hot sauce, chile flakes, or wasabi paste.

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